“My husband is in Afghanistan and a few ‘favorite things’ would brighten my day!”
How about that, Sisters?!? OK, Edie, please contact Living Proof Ministries at toll free (888) 700-1999 and give us an address. Please ask for Kimberly or Susan. Knowing what we now know, all of us here would want so much to send you to the beach…but, instead, we’re sending the beach to you. ENJOY!!!
PROCEED WITH CAUTION: this post will embody most everything you anticipate and perhaps even despise about women’s ministry. There will even be pink nail polish. As the great Professor Thornbury said a few weeks ago on the Twitterverse “something is not a stumbling block if you can see it coming.” So, consider yourself warned.
Colin and I just returned from a week at the beach in Mexico. It was crazy fantastic. I slept. I read classic literature. I also swam with a dolphin named Duey. And on the day I returned home I was greeted abrasively by a stomach bug and a crick in my neck so bad I could barely move my head. Oh, and then my 100 lb puppy Winston ate my over-priced prescription eye-glasses. But how can I really be frustrated with this bad boy?
Anyway, since this weekend was the Memorial Day holiday I scrolled through numerous tweets from people who were somewhere fabulous while I was at home with a bag of frozen corn under my neck. And I began to weep for the serenity of the ocean and my dolphin Duey.
But enough about me.
I want to talk about you.
I got to thinking that there may be some of you who won’t get a break this summer. While nearly everyone you know is off to some fabulous island, you won’t get a moment’s rest. For whatever reason, you won’t be able to retreat to the beach or the mountains or to wherever else makes your heart happy. We want to send a little fun and lots of love your direction so we’re doing a random give-away. And it will not include commentaries, concordances, or anything super useful or meaningful.
This giveaway is simply full of some of my personal favorite summer things including: Bobbi Brown Beach parfum (seriously smells exactly like the beach!), classic Ray-Ban aviators, Votivo Candle in White Ocean Sands, a pair of bright yellow Moleskine notebooks, Tea Forte’ Pomegranate Blackberry Iced Tea, and America’s Test Kitchen Best Summer Dessert recipes. See the contents below:
There are really no conditions for this giveaway. My hope, of course, is that this gift makes it into the hands of someone who simply can’t get a break this year and not someone who is heading to the Maldives or Bora Bora next week to stay in one of those little huts with glass floors sprawled across sparkling turquoise waters. But truly, if this gift brings a big smile to a single one of your faces that is quite enough for me.
So, please enter your name in the comments section if you could use a little sunshine in your world. We’ll do a random drawing and announce the winner at noon on this Thursday the 31st.
You are loved.
Melissa
What a blessing to someone! The aviator glasses would at least help me look like I am going on vacation. It looks like hubby is getting a new job, and summer vacation will need to be postponed once again.
How thoughtful and beautiful…makes me think of Bob Goff’s book “Love Does”. For no other reason than to bless someone you put together this give away. Thank you.
Not getting a summer getaway. My mom is waiting until Thanksgiving and we are all going on vacay. Would love a little beach in my summer. 🙂 Brooke Stover
Baby on the way in July! Not going anywhere.
Oh bless your heart!!! I’m one of those unable to get away this summer, and just the fact you’re doing this brings a smile to my face. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
Winston! He was not happy you didn’t bring him along. haha My Cindy ate my prescription glasses when she was 2 – that’s when I got her a cat!
What a fun giveaway! I love going to the beach.
Y’all rock! I pray the fun from this and the girl’s SLI launch is brightening your day!
The most exciting place I’m going this summer is Mobile, AL, where I will be bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding while wearing an electric purple, floor-length, satin dress. On June 30. Outdoors. In Mobile.
That nail polish isn’t named Blush and Bashful, is it?
Awesome giveaway! 🙂
Oh Melissa!!! How fun :). What a fabulous collection of favorite things 🙂
My baby girl is off to Hawaii for the summer teaching the dolphins you adore 🙂 while I’m here at home drooling over Facebook photos (grin)…how fun it would be to win!
Take care of your neck!!! Thanks for blessing us!
Fun fun fun!!!!
My name is Molly…and this is wonderful! Thoughtful and darling!!
And your puppy is so cute!
It looks like a wonderful bag of goodies! We are not going anywhere this year since my husband will be interning all summer long. This would be a nice substitution!
Moleskine notebooks!?!?! Pick me! Pick me!
-Gena Roberts
well this depends… if you call any of these a vacation, then i AM going on vacation this summer!
a) camp with 65 7th graders
b) youth group trip with 160 8th-12th graders
c) moving-across-the-country road trip with a 2 year old
as you can see, i will be having the most relaxing summer EV.ER. 🙂 such fun stuff! thanks!
Hi my name is Debe and I sure could use a dose of SONshine! Thankyou for allowing me the opportunity to try to receive it! 🙂 Have a lovely day!!!
I would LOVE to win! The beach is my happy place but I rarely get to go there:)
oh my goodness – I am drooling over this giveaway! I am camping for a week in August, but other than that around all summer. Oh and the 31st just happens to be my 15th wedding anniversary 🙂
Amazing! You are so sweet to put this together!
What a delightful and kind thing to do! Love the yellow moleskines! 🙂
The votivo candle and the sunglasses alone would be a wonderful gift. Add in everything else, and it’s an extravagant blessing!
I sit by a fountain in a shopping center on my lunch break and pretend I’m somewhere awesome. 176 until Thanksgiving Break.
Sounds like the perfect companion to my time on the deck in the mere moments I get to myself this summer…
Pick me! Pick me!
What a great idea. Thanks!
Paige Shappley
I was just sitting at my desk feeling sorry for myself because I have to use my paid time off that I had saved for a beach vacation for when I have surgery next week. I will be out of work for appoximately two weeks. I sat here thinking about how I so wish I could go to the beach instead of having surgery. I immediately thought….yes, I have a cyst on my thyroid the size of a lemon and yes, I am single mom who is the only source of income for my child, but I serve an awesome God who promises to take care of my every need. I checked Twitter and saw Beth’s post. I thought what did I have to lose. If I win, I could recover at home with the smells of the beach, sipping tea that would be soothing on my throat, and reading, reading, reading.
Thank you for being so generous. Whomever wins it will surely be blessed.
Wow Melissa-
How fun is this? & thoughtful! What a way to make a Siesta feel loved. Good luck everyone!
Loved your vacay pics on twitter.
how thoughtful! 🙂 thank you for this chance!
This would be a wonderful surprise-“if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all” seems to be my mantra for the last few months, so yes, winning this would be GREAT!!!
I get one weekend getaway – a working holiday, if you will, as it will be for a photo shoot. And, it looks as though what was supposed to be an anniversary getaway will be a family affair. So, on my photo shoot, in between snapping pics, I will probably be snapping at my kiddos!!!
I am hoping that there might be another weekend get away – probably camping – sometime this summer too. Other than that I will be stuck here with my kids and all the kids I babysit!
Livin the wild life here!!!
Ana Brooks
Would love every bit of this gift!!! No vacation for us this summer, but would love to light a candle and wear the shades to try and feel vacation-y!
Send some sonshine my way!
Please enter me. My hubs and I are not taking a vacation this year so I may start my ministry/art business dream… I leave my job June 30th and we have a free night at a hotel we received at an event recently that we are going to use while he is on vacation the following week! It would bless me indeed. 🙂
Thank you for thinking of us! M
Entering giveaway. Debbie Isaacs 606-679-4119
What a great gift! Maybe I can keep part and giveaway part 🙂
Amber
Ahhh. Summer. I’ll take it. 🙂
Oh dear! What a day! I’m at home with my spunky 21 month old girl and my barfing 4 year old boy. I’m on laundry load #8 and have scrubbed the carpets while my husband texts from his church office, “Oh, glad it’s you and not me.” But I wouldn’t trade this life for anything else! But I would love a non-messy day once in a while! Thanks for the blog post. Even if I don’t win the bounty, it was great to read some words of encouragement!
In Christ,
Gwenny<
That would just be lovely!
Im home with my 4 beautiful kiddos this summer. I would sure love a little summer pick me up!!!! Thanks – Kristia Greer
I am moving to a new city with my husband in 2.5 weeks. He found a job, but I haven’t yet. I fully prepared to be a professional designer working as a barista for the next few months so we can get insurance. Meaning – no breaks this summer, and maybe not for many summers to come.
I would love love to win this giveaway! It would be sure an encouragement!!!
So fun and thoughful!
Kelly Elliott
I would love to give this to a single mom friend who is in the midst of an 8 week summer session with hard days in the midst of it.
PS….Winston is so stinkin cute. Gotta love that face!!!!
No break for me this summer, lots of school, then a missions trip!
So fun! While we will go on our annual beach trip in late August, I’m homeschooling our boys through the summer. And our trip is like our same life, just add surf and salt air (praising God for those additions)! Anyway, would so love to win this pampering collection!
Would love to win some sunshine in a bag! 🙂
Thank you for thinking about people who can’t take a vacation. I will be working extra shifts this summer so I can go to school in the winter. I’m a single mother of 2. It would be really apprecaited.
I want to say I really enjoy reading your blogs. they give me inspiration when things aren’t going so well
Thank you!
Bless You!
Patty
SO sweet and thoughtful!! Praying just the right person gets chosen for this awesome giveaway.
I am too, Courtney!
What a cool giveaway!
Would love to win this!! I build sandcastles in my dreams. All thetime!
Im a teacher on my first day of summer break. Would live to win all of those goodies!!